The date was April 25, 1981, and for whatever reason, people out
there seem to remember Steve Cook's 287 game at the 1981
Firestone. For me, it sticks out as probably one of my top 5
moments in PBA history. You had this 6' 6" huge guy making a
run at perfection with a very powerful ball, something no one had
seen on TV in 7 years. Cook was simply awesome that day. He
self-financed his run on the PBT, and needed to win. He came out
probably more focused and aggressive than anyone I had seen up to
that time. He was running out strikes, and each shot was solid in
the pocket. I will never ever forget the shot in the 11th when he
left the 6-7 split. It's amazing to watch something 25 years
later after the fact that you have seen only once in your life. I
was 15 years old at the time. Afterwards, me and my buddies got
together, went to West Bloomfield Lanes (in Michigan, which sadly,
is now a Barnes & Noble bookstore), and probably bowled 15
games each. What a way to end the winter season on the 1981 Pro
Bowlers Tour. In fact, the show itself was an awesome show. It
featured Mark Roth, Earl Anthony, Pete Couture, Gary Dickinson,
and Steve Cook. In the first match between Anthony & Roth,
Roth actually missed a 10 pin (to the left), which unless you saw
it, you wouldn't believe it. He missed so far, it was over the 9
pin spot. Talk about nerves. In the Couture/Anthony match, they
had a double roll off, tieing 205-205 then 40-40 before Couture
shot 60-40. It appeared that the match ran so far behind, that
they actually cut into Wide World of Sports. It's what the PBA and
the Pro Bowlers Tour was all about, and perhaps that's why people
remember it fondly. Thank you so much Charlie once again.

I have posted the match at youtube to share with everyone else,
it's in two parts:

Steve Cook was clearly the best player on the PBA Tour in the
$150,000 Firestone Tournament of Champions as he threatened
perfection in the championship match before settling for a 287-183
victory against Pete Couture.

Cook, a 6'6", 260 lb. southpaw, belted out 10 consecutive
strikes in the championship game, each one solid in the pocket,
before coming light on his eleventh attempt and leaving the 6-7
pins.

Couture had no chance against that onslaught but had performed
courageously to get that far, including a double overtime win
earlier in the finals.

The 5'8", 130 lb. Couture had one of two 300 games in the
16th annual Firestone and put together the top match play record
of 18-5-1 in securing third place going into the championship
round.

The other 300 game was by Gary Dickinson in a sixth-round match
against Mark Roth in which Roth lost by two pins. The 300-298
match play clash (a record later to be broken), propelled
Dickinson into second and Roth into fourth for the finals, just
ahead of fifth-place qualifier Earl Anthony.

Cook, meanwhile, while never owning a large lead, came through at
crucial points throughout match play and prevailed with a 218
average at Riviera Lanes. It was not only his first TV finals
effort of the year but the 24-year-old had not finished above 19th
all season. The slump had affected Cook's confidence to the point
that he considered he might be overmatched on the pro tour and
began thinking of quitting.

All that, the self doubt and the financial struggle, was to
change.

Anthony defeated Roth in the first match. Anthony and Couture then
rolled to a 205-205 tie, forcing a roll-off of two frames in which
they each scored 40. As the almost unbearable tension mounted for
both the players and viewers of the historic match, Couture rolled
four straight strikes in the second roll-off and was declared the
winner when Anthony missed striking on his third attempt.

Cook waited for his chance to bowl for the largest first prize on
the PBA Tour. As he had done in the past in such a position, the
Roseville, Calif., native determined to play aggressively, as if
attacking the lane and pins much more than usual.

His first 10 shots could be mixed up and replayed out of sequence
and only the sharpest bowling eye would be able to put them back
in actual order. An extra $10,000 was on the line if he could come
up with two more.

"But as soon as I threw that second shot in the 10th frame I
knew it wasn't right," said Cook. "I thought it might
have a chance to carry but I wasn't counting on it."